Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 In-Ear Headphones Review

About the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3

Audio-Technica Japan is a well-known company in the world of headphones and earphones. They have a wide range of headphones and earphones and they have recently launched a new Sports series.

In this review, I am talking about the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3. The Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 has a new IPX5-certified protection against water and sweatwhich is unique in the market. So as such the Audio Technica ATH-SPORT3 is designed primarily for those who workout. That said they can be used by anyone with a less sedentary lifestyle as well!

Audio-Technica also has two other models in the series with slightly lesser performance (and a lower price tag to boot!) – ATH-SPORT1 and ATH-SPORT2.

The SPORT3 is just another example how Audio-Technica has continued to innovate and come up with some really different designs in earphones and headphones, but the design is only one part of the package. The sound quality will also have to match up to the design if Audio Technica expects this series to be a success.

Specifications and Product Overview

Driver Diameter:

Dynamic, 10 mm

Maximum Input Power:

200 mW

Frequency Response:

10 – 25,000 Hz

Sensitivity:

102 dB

Impedance:

16 ohms

Weight:

9.5g

Connector:

3.5 mm gold-plated stereo mini plug

Cable:

1.2 m (U type)

Accessories Included:

Earpieces (XS,S,M,L)

The Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 comes with a nice soft pouch a decent collection of ear tips. There are two variants. They have textured ear tips which provide a good grip and don’t fall off easily at the cost of some isolation and the others are the regular ear tips. The Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 comes with a U-shape cable and while I personally don’t like U-shape cables they do allow for easy identification of left and right channel.

The earphones are pretty light-weight, but they do insert a bit deep into your ears and so can get a bit uncomfortable over long listening durations. The ear guides also pain a bit. Wish there was a bit more cushioning on them.

It’s not a deal breaker though as it takes a while before my ears start to pain.

Front

Carry Pouch

Eartips

Audio Testing

The Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 has a rather in your face sound that impresses immediately. I have heard such ‘fun’ sound signatures earlier and generally, such a sound signature starts to get boring real quick.

However, the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 sprang a surprise on me. A month on and I still love the in your face sound! The bass is superb! A superb depth that can really hit the low notes, the bass also has superb speed so with fast paced tracks it keeps up very well while still delivering some impressive punch. Bass lovers should really love the bass on offer. However, the bass isn’t overly excessive. There is no ‘boom’ that some earphones portray as bass.

Most bass-heavy earphones have either poor treble or poor mid range. However, somehow Audio-Technica has managed to tune the drivers impressively that both treble and midrange are very good! Soundstage is also very impressive as is its detail retrieval. The earphones very revealing and if your music is heavily compressed you will hear all the flaws.

The treble is slightly ‘hot’ so you will hear a bit of harshness if your music is such. However, the treble is well extended, crisp and portrays a lot of detail. For the price range, treble is very impressive indeed as is the bass.

The midrange is not the best but the excellent soundstage provides some really good separation of the mid-range. There is a bit of sibilance even in well-recorded tracks, but a little EQ in the 7 kHz and 10 kHz range can tame the sibilance to some extent.

Overall an impressive showing from Audio Technica.

Conclusion

For its MSRP of 3990/- INR, I would heartily recommend this earphone. Its street price is even less however and you can generally pick them up for around 3400/- which is an awesome price for the sound quality on offer. The retail price of the unit in India in other countries via out affiliated stores are as follows:

The only real negatives are the lack of a microphone so you can’t use these earphones to answer or make calls and their slightly uncomfortable fit.

The slight treble hotness is also a drawback, but you can EQ that to remove the negative altogether.

After considering the total package – Superb Bass and treble, good midrange, Excellent soundstage and waterproof design I have no qualms wholeheartedly recommending these earphones to anyone looking for an earphone to use during workouts and even to those who just need a budget earphone with excellent sound quality.

For those looking at a more mid-centric sound, they can look at the other Audio-Technica offering in this price range – The Audio-Technica Sonic Fuel CKX7iS which has a much better midrange, a more spacious soundstage, smoother treble but lacks the bass of Audio Technica ATH-SPORT3.

Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 In-Ear Headphones Review

About the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 Audio-Technica Japan is a well-known company in the world of headphones and earphones. They have a wide range of headphones and earphones and they have recently launched a new Sports series. In this review, I am talking about the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3. The Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 has a new IPX5-certified protection against water and sweat which is unique in the market. So as such the Audio Technica ATH-SPORT3 is designed primarily for those who workout. That said they can be used by anyone with a less sedentary lifestyle as well! Audio-Technica also has two other models in the series with&hellip;

Review Overview

Build Quality

Bass

Mids

Treble

Soundstage

Comfort

Value for Money

86

Overall Score

Summary : The Audio Technica ATH-SPORT3 is a very good earphone both in design and in sound quality. The bundled accessories are also very good and the negative points are rather minor. All in all Audio Technica has come up with another very good earphone. Highly recommended.

Review Overview

Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 In-Ear Headphones Review

About the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 Audio-Technica Japan is a well-known company in the world of headphones and earphones. They have a wide range of headphones and earphones and they have recently launched a new Sports series. In this review, I am talking about the Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3. The Audio-Technica ATH-SPORT3 has a new IPX5-certified protection against water and sweat which is unique in the market. So as such the Audio Technica ATH-SPORT3 is designed primarily for those who workout. That said they can be used by anyone with a less sedentary lifestyle as well! Audio-Technica also has two other models in the series with&hellip;

Review Overview

Build Quality

Bass

Mids

Treble

Soundstage

Comfort

Value for Money

86

Overall Score

Summary : The Audio Technica ATH-SPORT3 is a very good earphone both in design and in sound quality. The bundled accessories are also very good and the negative points are rather minor. All in all Audio Technica has come up with another very good earphone. Highly recommended.